In hard times, those of us who are religious, turn to it for support. For me, being Pagan Agnostic, offers me great comfort… but it also has the added bonus of confusing others and bringing up dump questions: “How can you be Pagan and Agnostic?” “Wait, Pagan… that means you’re a witch right?” “Hehe witches dance around naked don’t they?” …and that’s usually how the thought process goes. Firstly, it is quite possible to be both Pagan and Agnostic; just the same as it is quite possible to be both Christian and a witch. Secondly, no, being Pagan does not mean I am a witch: one is a type of belief system and the other is a collection of crafts. Lastly, “dancing” naked… or as witches call it: skyclad. One, they preform rites naked (and usually only some, not all) -which, yes, can partly include dancing-, their not just “dancing around like party goers” or something silly like that. Also, this practice is generally only done by a select group of witches – mostly those in the Gardnerian and Aradian traditions. It is by no means universal nor is it exclusive to traditional Wicca.

The term “skyclad” derived, most likely, from the Indian Digambara Jains, a religious sect in which the monks may not wear clothing. Digambara literally means “sky-clothed”. The reasons for doing Wiccan rites skyclad comes from Charles Leland’s 1899 book, Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches. At the end of the first chapter, this speech by Aradia appears:

And as the sign that ye are truly free,
Ye shall be naked in your rites, both men
And women also: this shall last until
The last of your oppressors shall be dead;

Robert Chartowich, however, points to the 1998 Pazzaglini translation (below) and argues that the ritual nudity is based upon Leland’s mistranslation by incorporating the clause “in your rites”.

Men and Women
You will all be naked, until
Yet he shall be dead, the last
Of your oppressors is dead

Wicca would certainly be a far more controversial religion if it’s practitioners didn’t wear clothes at all. Just imagine the upheaval that would cause… I’m sure it would be popular with nudists though.

My week 17 “Stripped” entry for the 50 Shades of Sexy Challenge. Chris suggested I find a car on cinder blocks for this prompt lol

Wearing:
Shape: Nova by -*delogikal*- – 100L
Skin: MIASNOW Skin – EMILY Tan ~red – No longer available
Hair: Flow Hell Red *Battle Angel* CHH3 – Store closed, old hunt gift
Eyes: <MARIKO> cafe coffe eyes_02 (M) – Old hunt gift
Feet: – MPP – BareFeet – 340L
Nail Polish: :::Sn@tch Nail Candy (Black/Red Stripe)::: – 200L, part of set
Dress: FATAL Ravaged – 95L, this color is an old hunt gift though
Bra: FATAL Sense and Sensuality Red – 150L, part of complete outfit
Pose: The Muse Poses – Seduction 02 – Group gift, free to join, part of set
Location: Berlin – Scheunenviertel